28

1 September 2009

"The uniform suits you," Rosemary said to Shinjiro as he walked with her to school.

He looked to the side as his cheeks warmed up. Damn the Chairman and his "required school attendance". His girlfriend let out a quiet chuckle at his suffering and his cheeks grew warmer. She stopped chuckling after a few seconds and sent him an apologetic smile. He forgave her after a few minutes of that expression being sent his way. She put her hands into the pockets of her pants, and he wondered why she had decided on wearing a variation of the male uniform.

"I didn't want to chance someone grabbing the skirt," She muttered, "I thought I looked nice."

"Beautiful as always," He said without thinking.

She made a strange sound and he looked over to see her face a cherry red. She covered her mouth with a hand and looked to the side. She was slowly growing shy and eventually she hid behind her book bag. She peered over the top of it at him and he stiffened slightly.

"Stop being cute, damn it," He grumbled, and her eyes widened innocently.

"…I'll make no promises," She said after a few seconds of silence.

"Idiot." He muttered and she brightened at the fond tone.

They got on the monorail and he looked down at his student ID. It was from when he first started high school surprisingly, it still worked. He looked so young in the picture, nothing like he did currently. His hair barely reached his chin, and his beanie was out of the shot. He still looked youthful. Heh, he wondered what his younger self would've thought of Rosemary. He probably would've been too nervous to say anything and cover it up with an insult. He looked over at her and noticed she was reading.

"Do you have club today?" He asked her.

"I have boxing," She nodded, "I did good in the regional tournament, so I think they'll understand that I'm back to square one."

Her shoulders slumped at that. Mitsuru had banned her from Tartarus and patrol until her health was back to normal. Her heart was getting better, but it still wasn't strong enough. He usually watched as Ken distracted her by asking how to make a specific dish or dessert. Ken was trying to keep them apart, but didn't understand that Rosemary was good at finding time to spend with him. He would always ask about their dishes and got a small piece of them. He didn't even like sugary things, but they were never overly sweet. The taste was always right, and she said she was happy about the bake on them. Her British slang was slowly revealing itself as she became comfortable around him.

"It'll help build your health back up," He sighed.

"So will gym," She muttered as she narrowed her eyes in thought, "I think the third-years have it after the second-years."

He might see her in passing? He would have to make sure not to skip that class, though it would kick his ass the rest of the day. His health wasn't much better than hers. She could still get better; he might get worse. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and started to think deeply so she wouldn't hear it. She tilted her head at the sudden silence from him before returning to her book. Themis blocked his thoughts from her when he went into deep thought. It was nice not to hear his every thought.

He could feel Castor, the persona's constant presence was a reminder of what he did. The persona raged inside of him when his thoughts started to turn guilty. A hand on his got his attention and Rosemary was looking at him in worry. She had heard Castor? Right, she had told him she could hear personas with her ability. He got the distinct feeling of Castor being calmed by an unknown source and he felt some tension leave his shoulders. Was that Themis? She gave his hand a gently squeeze before pulling away and standing up. The monorail had stopped at their station.

"I doubt anyone will remember me," He said, and she looked at him, "it has been a while since I've stepped foot in a classroom."

"You're smart, I believe in you," She said, and he huffed at that.

It wasn't what he was worried about, but the compliment was nice. She gave him a bright smile, and he stared for a few seconds. He pulled her into a small alcove in the station and held her in an embrace. They had enough privacy that no one would notice. She had her hands on his chest and looked at him in surprised. She hadn't expected that seeing as it was a split decision on his end. She slowly returned the embrace and smiled softly. Shinjiro gave nice hugs, but they were sparse. She would enjoy them when she got them. He broke the embrace first and rested his hands on her hips. He had a contemplative expression on his face as she looked at him with a tiny smile on her face showing her joy at the impromptu hug.

"We really aren't discreet about this," He mumbled as he rubbed one of his thumbs against her hip.

"For the most part we are," She said, "but then we have moments like this."

"I don't want to ruin your reputation," He tried to excuse his need for privacy.

"Like I have much of one for you to ruin," She said with a slight scoff, "besides, I'm proud to have a boyfriend as kind as you."

"Kind? The hell?" He groused as her a frown on his face.

She stared at him for a few minutes until he sighed. Fine, he was a nice guy. Now could she stop staring at him? She gave him a sweet smile before pressing a small kiss to his cheek. He stood there, dumbfounded as she exited the little alcove. She had to make it to class on time. He brought a hand up to his cheek and felt the usually cold skin feel warm under his touch. She initiated physical affection, and he was caught off guard. He rubbed his cheek in thought and started to head to the school.

He glared at the students around him as he was told to sit in a desk by a teacher. He didn't care what their name was, he doubted he'd ever use it. He took sparse notes, he was only at the school for show. If he needed to learn something he could find it in a book. He spared a glare towards a group of gossiping boys and his glare increased at their topic.

Which female student would be the loudest during sex. The teacher didn't seem to care about the conversation and continued his lecture. He was ignoring the few girls in class who were growing increasingly uncomfortable. He clenched his jaw in annoyance and held his tongue. He didn't want to deal with an angry Mitsuru and a worried Rosemary. Those two could make anyone feel guilty without meaning to.

"I think Kirijo would be quiet," A boy with dyed blonde hair said with a smirk, "Takeba would be loud."

Oh, they had moved on to the SEES girls. He clenched his pencil in his hand and turned his attention towards the track. He could see the second years playing soccer. A head of blue hair was acting as goalkeeper and he watched as it quickly moved to block a goal with slight ease. He slouched in his seat and propped his elbow up on the table, resting his chin in his hand. He watched the second years and tried to ignore the gossiping behind him. They had moved to his girlfriend and her female friends. Takeba had been mentioned previously, but now they were bringing Yamagishi into it.

"Y'think Yamagishi and Hanamura would be loud?" A boy with buzzed brown hair asked the blonde.

"Of course, quiet girls like that are usually loud," The blonde answered with a slight smirk, "personally I think Hanamura would make the best noises out of all of them followed by Yamagishi."

Shinjiro made a face at that and questioned why there were so many perverts in Iwatodai. He'd come across several in the back alleys that would prey on men and women alike. Those types never really cared who they made uncomfortable, they just cared who they got into their bed. He took in a frustrated breath and tried to ignore them. Some people just didn't know how to treat others. Granted, he insulted people to keep them away. He didn't treat people like a commodity or entertainment.

"Hey, Aragaki," The blonde called, and he sent him an annoyed look, "which one do you think is the loudest?"

"Does it matter?" Shinjiro grumbled as he narrowed his eyes at the boy and scared him.

He'd like to teach the two punks a lesson about treating women right. He could probably appeal to Aki's older brother sensibility and get an extra pair of fists on his side. Then again, Aki liked a good fight more than anyone. It was something he kept in mind if they continued to gossip about such things. He frowned and looked out the window, snubbing any attempt at a conversation with the two boys. The girls in the class sent him thankful smiles and his frown turned into a full glare.

He suffered through gym, and ignored the girls around him as they began to gossip about him as Aki walked up. He surprised his friend by even showing up to gym, but he would get full attendance for the day and then skip it until he had to be there. It was a good move on his part. He could always nap on the roof to avoid the other students.

"What's got you so bothered?" Akihiko asked him with a raised brow.

"Some idiots in my class," He answered with his glare firmly on his face as he motioned towards the two idiots, "they were having a conversation about the female members of SEES, guess what it was about."

"Shit, I forgot about those guys," Akihiko muttered as he crossed his arms across his chest and frowned, "they've been giving Mitsuru problems for a while, she's dealing with it as fast as she can."

Shinjiro wondered what problems they were causing to get Mitsuru on their asses. He gathered it had to do with how they talked about the girls in the school, but didn't want to assume. Shit, what did he care? He was positive it had to do with how they viewed women.

Lunch was a nice break away from the stifling nature of classes. He was sore from gym; he could feel his body protesting at the exercise he had done. He brought a hand up to cover his face as he relaxed on the roof. The door opened and he was ready to glare at whoever had joined him. His expression smoothed when he saw Rosemary standing there. She had some bread in her hand and seemed a bit surprised to see him. He motioned her over and she took a seat next to him.

"I could hear your annoyance from the track," She quietly informed him, "everything okay?"

"Don't worry about it," He said as she opened the packaging to her bread, "melon bread?"

She shrugged and took a bite out of her lunch. He grumbled in his mind at her answer. She ate worse than Aki and she didn't have the excuse of not knowing how to cook. She ate her bread with a blank expression on her face as she looked up towards the sky and watched the clouds roll by. He sighed and placed his head on her shoulder, if she was going to stay so still then he'd enjoy a place to rest his head. She rested her head on top of his and he gave a small smirk. Her hair had decided to brush against his nose. His nose crinkled at the sensation.

"Is your day going all right?" She asked him.

"It's doing better," He answered, and she turned a light pink.

She finished her lunch and clasped the plastic packaging in her hand as he slowly moved her to rest against his chest. He seemed to find it comfortable to rest his chin on her shoulder and have his arms around her. She felt her heart racing and she went to hold one of his hands but hesitated. She didn't know if that was the appropriate thing to do or not. He moved his hand and held it up as an invitation and she slipped her hand into his. He was content, and his mind reflected that. There was a lingering guilt in the back of his mind, but he was focusing on the present.

"Have you seen any of the movies at the festival going on?" She asked him, "I've heard a few of the girls in my class talking about them, but their thoughts…are a bit interesting."

"What kind of thoughts did you pick up on?" He questioned with a frown.

"The kind that I used to see from adults not people my age," She muttered before clearing her mind of those thoughts, "you get them too sometimes."

He tensed at that and his face warmed up at the implications. That had to be the worst thing about dating a mind reader, she knew exactly what he was thinking before he could shove it to a dark recess of his mind or ignore the thoughts completely. She looked at him without any judgement and a bit of shyness. So, she had those thoughts as well. She couldn't say anything negative about having intimate thoughts about another person because it was normal. He tightened his hold on her and she let out a slightly shaky breath. She was growing nervous.

"…Wouldyougoseeamoviewithme?" She asked in a rush and he had to process what she said.

"…All right," He agreed, and she smiled, "This Friday."

She gave a nod of agreement and moved in his hold to hug him back. He was surprised that she was moving past her hesitation around physical contact enough to be affectionate. She was, and he really hadn't expected it. She looked up at him and he met her gaze with ease. He wasn't a big talker, and neither was she, so there was never an expectation of talking between them. They jumped when the door opened and separate before they were noticed. His heart was racing as he glared at Akihiko and Fuuka.

"Oh, we were looking for Rosemary," Fuuka softly apologized, "sorry for bothering you, Shinjiro-senpai."

"I'm here," Rosemary said as she waved a hand from behind him and he resisted sparing her a glare, "I was asking him about something and stayed to eat my lunch. What's up, Fuuka?"

Fuuka looked at the two as her mind easily worked out what was going on. Akihiko frowned a bit before his expression smoothed. He knew what was going on. They had his support if they ever came out as a couple publicly. He gently nudged Fuuka and she broke out of her thoughts and looked up at him in slight surprise before remembering what she came to ask. She was a bit nervous to ask around Shinjiro and Rosemary understood that. She gave him an apologetic smile before following Fuuka to find out what she wanted. Akihiko stayed behind to talk to his childhood friend.

"So, how are you two able to find this much time to hide away?" Akihiko asked in amusement.

"It just happens," Shinjiro sighed as he shot his friend an annoyed look.

Akihiko would pester his friend and mess with him, but he didn't want to start a fight. He'd have to sit through the rest of his classes with his face hurting. That wasn't something he wanted. He also had boxing and the coach wouldn't be too pleased with him if he came in injured. He sighed and left Shinji alone, that was the best thing to do.

"A cooking club?" Rosemary asked Fuuka in surprise, "Did you need a second member to start it up? Er…that sounds wrong, I'm happy to join but I am curious."

"I want to learn how to cook and I thought that a club where everyone was learning would be the best way," Fuuka said as her cheeks warmed up, "you're one of the better cooks that I know."

"I have no problem helping out," Rosemary said as her shoulders relaxed, she had tensed up in anticipation.

She hadn't wanted to say anything rude to Fuuka, and she almost did on accident. She sighed in relief when Fuuka informed her that they wouldn't work on anything that would take too long to cook. The teal-haired girl was aware that she had to work and had other clubs. They'd meet on Thursday when the meetings for the boxing team wasn't mandatory. They went back to class and she couldn't help but stare at her notebook as she replayed what had happened on the roof in her mind. Themis was chuckling quietly; her laugh was musical and she felt her neck burning in embarrassment. She had run her mouth and let it spill some of her more personal information. She wasn't lying when she said that most people had those intimate thoughts, but she hadn't meant to tell him that he did and so did she. She was extremely embarrassed by that. She sighed and went to boxing.

She was put into the ring without any time to explain her condition and she finally figured out why Akihiko was insane enough to push his body well past its limits. The coach didn't believe in letting a body win, he believed that one could push through its natural barriers with pure training, and a stubborn attitude. She ducked and weaved through punches sent her way and began to send some back. Her heart let out painful throbs every so often, but she wasn't about to take a hit to the face to end the match. She wasn't that type of person. Maybe she was just as insane as Akihiko. She ducked under a final punch and brought her first upwards and connected with her opponent's jaw. She was breathing heavily as her match was called and the next person went. It was to see where they were since the tournament. She was apparently still adequate in her skills.

She swallowed painfully as she took a seat against the wall to catch her breath and calm her heart down. It was growing more painful the more she prolonged it, but she knew that was going to happen. She couldn't let it stop her from living her life. She wanted to be on even ground with Shinjiro when it came to their relationship. She didn't want him to feel like he'd have to take care of her all the time. After a few minutes she got up and gave Akihiko a wave. She needed to get to work. She had to make up the hours she missed. When she first took the job, she hadn't expected to end up fighting shadows or in the hospital.

She was able to think on her social links while working at the bookstore. Most of her links were already at a high level, and she had almost maxed Shinjiro's. She thought about the ones she had maxed. Akihiko's, Ken's, and Fuuka's. Minato was the fool arcana to her. She was only halfway through their link, and she knew he was in the same predicament. Bunkichi and Mitsuko were Hierophants for both their links, but she was close to finishing it. She stacked books with an absent-minded manner and made light conversation with Mitsuko as the old woman talked to her about sewing and knitting. She was being given information on how to do it. She wondered why before becoming a bit sheepish when Mitsuko's thoughts informed her why. She was trying to prepare her for married life. It was nice that the old woman approved of her boyfriend.

She ended up enjoying the rest of her day and went to sleep early.

5 September 2009

Night of Full Moon

"Sorry we didn't get to go to the movies," Rosemary apologized to Shinjiro as the members of SEES went to club escapade to get the new full moon shadow.

"There's always next time," He muttered with a shrug before he remembered something, "I got you something."

He held out a small package to her and she accepted it. He got her a ribbon that was a shade of red the exact color of his coat, it had small silver plates on them to weigh it down when it was windy. She would use it in her hair, but she didn't want to ruin it. He gently took it out of her hand and tied it around her neck. He made it in a neat bow that made her suspect he was the reason why Akihiko knew how to properly tie his. She looked down at the neat bow and couldn't help but think it was like he was trying to tell people they were together without being obvious about it. She smiled at him and he looked to the side in embarrassment. She needed to return to her spot next to Akihiko before anyone noticed that she had move. She gave his hand a discreet caress before returning to her spot.

Akihiko looked at her with a raised brow and she smiled in response. He knew that supporting their relationship wasn't going to win him any favors with Ken, but he cherished the fact that they made each other happy. He'd never seen Shinjiro smile in such a way before. He couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen, he just didn't know what.

They entered the club, and everyone was immediately put-on edge. The air held a static charge to it and Akihiko knew his magic would be useless against the shadow. He cracked his knuckles in preparation for a fight as Rosemary got her evoker ready. She wouldn't be useless, but she was told not to fight. Her persona was the perfect shield, and she was expected to do just that. She hoped that she'd be able to fight again, she wasn't that fragile.

She started to feel a little uneasy since Junpei wasn't around. No one had seen him since school. She hoped that he was all right. There wasn't anything she could do about his disappearance but look for him after the fight was over. She looked at the shadow and knew that Junpei was going to be upset that he missed the fight.

The shadow was tall and truly towered over them. It was purple with red worked into its skin. Rosemary could hear its thoughts and noted that it was a collective conscious. Several thoughts were happening all at once and she was having trouble focusing on the main one. Lightening, and charge. She wondered if that was a clue to its strengths. She looked to Minato and he nodded. She summoned Themis and stood ready to put a shield if it became needed.

The feeling of summoning her persona was soothing. Her chest didn't even hurt from doing so, and her heart always raced when doing so. She kept her eyes on the shadow as her friends attacked it. It was charging up power for a grand attack. She'd put up shields the second before it even thought about unleashing its pent-up power. She was brought out of her thoughts by an attack sent her way. She ducked and moved to the side. Akihiko punched one of its legs and it stepped back, trying to recapture its balance. She was ready to put up the shields and turned to Themis, giving the persona a curt nod.

Impenetrabilis clypeus. The impenetrable shield. It was completely clear and allowed for full vision. She approved of this shield as it was stronger than her previous one. Her persona was stronger, and it showed as she barely felt the drain of summoning the shield. She knew that she herself was stronger, her time in the hospital informed her of that but she couldn't exercise or refine her newfound strength due to her physical fragility. She didn't even flinch as the shadow unleashed its charged-up power at them.

That didn't stop SEES from attacking it with everything they had. Ken had sweat dripping down his face and onto the dance floor of the club as he wielded his spear with as much power he could muster. He could see through the shield Rosemary put up and that was a plus on his books. Usually there was a film surrounding them that made it a bit difficult to see. He looked back at her and noticed the yellowish glow to her eyes. Minato got like too sometimes when he summoned a persona for a lengthy amount of time. He ducked under an attack with ease and paired up with Koromaru to stab in it two places at once.

Shinjiro added his own attack to it and swung a large axe at the shadow's legs. His eyes were narrowed dangerously as he started to strategize his next move. Castor was raging inside him, wanting to be released. His persona wanted to fight. He would reluctantly oblige and summoned the spear wielding persona. He hoped he didn't regret that decision.

Castor took one look at the shadow and removed the spear from his torso. It was then stabbed through the shadow multiple times and in quick succession. Everyone paused and watched the persona wail on the shadow before running out of steam and returning to his summoner. Shinjiro looked a bit exhausted after his persona returned and a hand on his shoulder caused him to jerk his shoulder away out of reflex.

"Are you all right?" Rosemary asked, she wasn't even upset by his reflex.

"I'm fine," He answered in a terse voice.

"Right." She nodded and moved back to her original position.

He went back to fighting, though he was now pairing his attacks with Akihiko. It reminded him of the old days. Aki would punch the shadow and he would always follow it up with an attack from an axe or hammer that Mitsuru would give him. He was more partial to axe's though if he had to fight with a bus stop sign he would be all right. It'd be humorous to take a shadow down with one of those.

"Everyone, the shadow is going to unleash a powerful attack," Fuuka informed everyone.

They all braved themselves and Rosemary clasped her hands together to increase the strength of her shields. The attack wasn't that bad, until it tried to tear at her shields and get at the people behind them. She glared at the shadow and held her ground. She refused to allow it to harm her friends. She was almost distracted when a card floated down in front of her face before shooting into her chest. Themis turned and looked at her as she tried to figure out what happened.

'You have welcomed the persona Anubis into your heart.'

That was all fine and dandy, but she couldn't use him in this fight. The shadow wasn't susceptible to his move set. She clenched her jaw in thought and removed her focus from the shields as the attack stopped. She could use Anubis for a physical attack, but she didn't know if Mitsuru would kick her ass if she brought out a different persona. Minato was the only person that the Kirijo's knew could summon multiple personas. She was categorized as a shield and nothing more. She was a bit unsure if she should say anything about it. If she were to say anything to anyone it would be Shinjiro. He wouldn't say anything to Mitsuru due to her unease at the situation.

"May," Minato called as he was pushed back his movement was stopped by Aigis grabbing onto his shoulders, "just do it."

She sent him a dirty look before giving Themis a curt nod. She brought her evoker up to her jaw and pulled the trigger. Summoning Anubis was different than summoning her true persona. Anubis felt dark compared to Themis and she fought the urge to resummon her. She could hear the surprise around her as Anubis slammed into the shadow with as much ferocity as Castor. She made a face and knew that was why she felt he was darker. He reminded her of Castor, but didn't have the same arcana. Anubis came from the Judgement Arcana along with Themis.

"Shit," Shinjiro muttered as he watched Anubis use his scales to attack the shadow, "so, she's just like the leader?"

"We didn't know about this," Misturu sighed, "why didn't she say anything?"

"She didn't know until now," Minato offered as he called on Jack Frost to assist Anubis, Aigis using her guns to shoot at the shadow.

Akihiko watched as the two personas attacked the shadow with everything they had, it had to be a drain on their summoners. He summoned Polydeuces and he rose to the challenge to help them out. Castor soon joined in on it. It had been so long since he fought along Shinjiro that it was a surprise to see him. He had a slight smirk on his face as the shadow finally went down.

The personas all disappeared, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Minato looked around and frowned. Junpei hadn't shown up the entire fight, what could he be doing? He looked towards Rosemary and noted how exhausted she looked from combat. He wasn't surprised when Shinjiro came by and asked her something. She seemed a bit confused before slightly nodding. Ken walked up and sent her a worried expression.

"Hanamura, had back and get some rest," Mitsuru ordered, "Amada, Koromaru go with her."

"Right," Ken nodded as he turned to Koromaru and tilted his head.

Koromaru barked his agreement and they started a slow trek back to the dorms. Ken filled the air with small conversation about his schooling and Rosemary listened with a soft smile on her face. She was happy that he seemed to be having fun. People weren't making fun of him when she had the time to pick him up and walk back to the dorms together. Those were rare, but she enjoyed the time they could spend together.

They entered the dorms and he gave her a hug good night before heading up to his room to sleep. Koromaru sat down and looked up at her with an expectant gaze. She let out a soft laugh before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. He let out a yip and rushed up the stairs to join Ken. She shook her head in amusement before slowly climbing the stairs and heading to her room.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up the minute she stepped into her room. The camera was on. She moved her head forward and glanced at it through the curtain of hair that covered her face. There wasn't a light attached to the camera, but she caught the reflection of moonlight when the lens automatically adjusted. Who was up in the observation room? She focused on the thoughts around her.

Ken was wondering what their next fight was going to be against, and the next showing of the Featherman movie. She would have to keep an eye out for him and take him to see the movie. It'd be an enjoyable experience. Then she could go see one with Shinjiro. She was getting off topic.

'Is she all right? She's just standing there.' Ah, it was the chairman.

She sighed and moved to grab some pajamas and her showering equipment. She wasn't going to be in the room while someone was watching her. She couldn't even change without eyes on her. A shudder went through her body at that thought. She stopped her actions to take care of Mochi and then headed to the showers while her cat was eating her dinner. She would have to set up a schedule to feed her cat.

Her showed lasted a good hour as she listened to Ikutsuki's thoughts. He was still up in the observation room, but had turned off the camera in her room. If he turned it back on she would find somewhere else to be. She was tired of being watched. She hadn't consented to it in the first place. She ran a hand down her face and removed some of the water. Where would she even go? Shinjiro's room? She felt her face heat up at that. He probably wouldn't let her in there for the night. Sometimes he didn't trust himself not to go too far. She trusted him more than he would ever know.

She stopped the water and got out of the shower. She dried off and left the towel around her shoulders as she started to get dressed. It was her cat pajamas with the short sleeves and short bottoms. She exited the bathroom with her dirty clothes and showering items and headed into her room. The camera went back on. She was tempted to ask Mitsuru to take it out, but didn't want to cause a problem. She'd have to suck it up. She placed the ribbon that Shinjiro gave her on her desk before tossing her dirty clothes into the hamper. She climbed into bed and turned her face away from the camera. Mochi joined her and curled up next to her face. She'd do her best to ignore the camera. It didn't hep that she felt the hairs sticking up on her body.

She fell into an uneasy sleep.